Die clamp and guard.



No. 677,225. Patented June .25, I90L.

' J. Y. JOHNSTON.

DIE CLAMP AND GUARD.

(Application filed Jan. 23, 1900. Renewed kpr. 23, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet L.

(No Model.)

m. 677,225. Pat e nted lune-25, 19m.

' J. v. uonnsrou.

DQIE CLAMP AND GUARD.

(Application filed Jan. 23, 1900. Renewed Apr. 23, 1901.)

LE g N v Q o [)m I |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH YARDLEY JOHNSTON, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHNSTON NORTH AMERICAN PATENTS COMPANY, LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

DIE CLAMP AND GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,225, dated June 25, 1901. Application filed January 23, 1900. Renewed April 23, 1901. Serial No. 57,118. N0 model-J T0 (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH YARDLEY J onus- TON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city of London, England, have invented a Die Clamp and Guard, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to means for clamping or holding in position the dies or the like of printing or printing and embossing presses and for regulating contact between said dies or the like and the inking devices of the press.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view on the line A A, Fig. 4, of the clamping and regulating means, the die and the block'to which it is secured being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a'similar view to Fig. 1, partly in section. Fig. 4 is a plan thereof. Fig. 5 is an end view, Fig. 4, certain parts being omitted. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional plan, and Fig. 7 represents to a smaller scale a die secured to its block and provided with regulating means in the act of being inked.

The die a is shown secured to a rectangular block b, furnished with a square shank adapted to slide vertically in a square opening at the end of a die-arm which is revolved over inking and wiping apparatus prior to printing, and the said block may be held normally in contact with the under side of the arm by suitable springs, as indicated in Fig. 7. A dovetailed groove 0, formed horizontally across the under side of the block I), re ceives dovetailed projections eand f, formed, respectively, on clamp-jaws g and h, operated by a right and left handed screw 2', held longitudinally by plates jj, secured to the dieblock b. An index-plate 70, formed with a series of recesses Z, corresponding to the graduations of the index, is arranged to slide in a groove m, formed in the die-block at right angles to the dovetailed groove 0 and to be secured in the desired position by a screwpin a, which enters any one of the recesses Z. The clamp-jaws g and h automatically center the die in one direction, and by pushing it against the end of the index-plate previous to clamping its correct position in the opposite direction may be insured. Thus a die can be removed by simply loosening the screw 11 and replaced exactly in its previous position, thus insuring correct register. In place of the above-described index-plate two plates or stops operated by a right and left handed screw at right angles to the aforesaid screw '11 may be employed to automatically center or locate the die longitudinally, and in place ofthe dovetailed arrangement above described the clamp-jaws g and 71 may be provided with projections at the ends to embrace and slide upon the edges of the block I), said edges and projections being of dovetail form, if desired, or any other suitable means maybe employed for this purpose.

Upon the clamp-jaw g, which is at the leading or forward edge of the die a, I provide adjustable-guards 0, adapted to operate upon the inking-roller of a spring-supported inking apparatus at the required time, so as to de= press the said inking-roller and only allow it to rise when the front edge of the die a has passed, whereby the said front or leading edge of the die is prevented from becoming charged with ink and from catching against and damaging the inking roller. The guards o are carried by the ends of the clamp-jaw g, which extend beyond the dye block b, each of said ends being formed with a rectangular opening 1], in which one of the guards o is free to slide vertically, but is confined therein by a plate q, secured to the end of the jaw. The guards are adjusted and supported by screws r,tha't extend into plain grooves s,Figs. 3 and 6, in the Wall of the openings 19, endwise motion of each screw being prevented by a semicircular collar t at the end of the groove entering an annular recess a beneath the screw-head. The thread of each screwr engages a half-nut '0, formed in the side of the guard 0, each of which is provided with a renewable wearing-piece to, with inclined forward edge, as shown. The guards are so adjusted that their horizontal under surfaces are slightly above the face of the die, but that when the guards are in contact with disks 00, Fig. 7, carried by the inking-roller spindle, said roller is held below the die-face. As soon as the guards clear the disks w 10b springs 3 force the inking-roller up again, so that it comes in contact with the die just beyond its leading edge, and therefore no ink is delivered on the front edge of the die. The die now travels over the inking-roller, which is pressed against it by the said springs and becomes charged with ink.

The distance from the edge of the die to the place where the inking-roller meets its face is regulated solely by the vertical adjustment of the guards 0, which maybe effected independently, so as to suit varying positions of the inking-roller.

The rear clamp-jaw h is inclined, as shown, Fig. 2, to preventit making contact with the inkingroller after the die has passed the same.

WVhat I claim is- 1. In a printing-press, the combination of an inking device, die-clampingjaws of which the forward or leading jaw is formed with lateral extensions and adjustable means carried by said extensions for regulating contact between said die and the inking device of the press, as set forth.

2. The combination with a die-clamping jaw having lateral extensions each formed with an opening, of a vertically-adjustable block located in each of said openings and means for adjusting said block, as set forth. 3. The combination with a die-clamping jaw having lateral extensions each formed with an opening, of a vertically-adjustable block located in each of said openings and formed with a renewable wearing-surface and means for adjusting said block, as set forth.

4. The combination with a die-clamping jaw having lateral extensions eachformed with an opening, of a vertically-adjustable block located in each of said openings and formed with arenewable wearing-surface and with a half-nut, a screw engaging in said half-nut and means for preventing said screw moving longitudinally, as set forth.

5. The combination with a die-block having a dovetail groove of a pair of clamp-jaws each. formed with projections fitting in said groove, means for causingsaid clamp-jaws to move toward and from each other, verticallyadjnstable blocks contained in openings formed in lateral extensions of the forward or leading clamping-jaw, and having renewable wearing-s11rfaces and half-nuts, screws engaging in said half-nuts and each formed with a recess into which a part collar formed on the clamp-jaw enters, as set forth.

Signed at 22 Bride Lane, London, England, this 12th day of January, 1900.

JOSEPH YARDLEY JOHNSTON. \Vitnesses:

WILLIAM B. CHILD, ARTHUR WoosNAM. 

